Buzz Your Fuzz donations increase

The second Buzz Your Fuzz fundraiser held in Great Falls raised about 50 percent more funds for cancer research and patients over last year, organizer Grant Eve said.

Money was still coming in, but Eve estimates donations will top out around $25,000, compared to $16,000 last year.

The fundraiser involves people raising money to shave their heads. Silent and live auctions were also held.

Eve credited the higher number of people shaving their heads and having a live auctioneer, Zane Drishinski, with much of the increase.

More foot traffic at the host bar, Hollis' Hi Ho Tavern, helped, too.

"There's potential for growth" for upcoming years, Eve said.

And he already has ideas in mind for next year's fundraiser.

Buzz Your Fuzz is held in memory of Eve's uncle, Mike Eve, a Great Falls native and former Whitefish finance director who died of renal cell carcinoma in 2009. The first couple fundraisers were held in Whitefish, then moved to Great Falls last year. The increased success has convinced Eve to keep it here.

Funds raised will be split between Benefis Sletten Cancer Institute in Great Falls and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

The money donated to Hutchinson will go in the family assistance fund and the general fund, according to a Hutchinson spokeswoman. The family assistance fund helps patients pay for everyday needs like groceries, transportation or child care.